


You Melt My Heart

by mikaylamazing



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, T. J. Kippen & Amber Are Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 14:04:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17788781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikaylamazing/pseuds/mikaylamazing
Summary: Cyrus works at an ice cream shop and TJ comes in every day.valentine's day exchange gift for andixmack on tumblr!





	You Melt My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift for the valentine's day exchange for andixmack on tumblr! i hope you enjoy!

Cyrus is the last of his friends to get a job. It isn’t from lack of trying, it’s just that there aren’t many job openings in Shadyside that require his niche set of skills. He had been mentally  readying himself for the inevitability of yet another summer of unemployment when he got the call from the small ice cream shop a few streets over from his house. When he went in for the interview, the owner had smiled at him a lot and called him charming, but he assumed she was just being nice so he wouldn’t feel too bad when he didn’t hear back from her. He didn’t even bother to save the number in his phone, feeling more pessimistic than usual, so he barely managed to stop himself from choking when it’s “Margaret from Melt Away” asked him to “come to the shop tomorrow to start training.” 

It’s been a couple weeks since then, and despite the fact that his wrists were definitely not built for scooping ice cream for hours a day, it’s a reasonably nice job. The free ice cream was really all he needed to be completely sold, but the tips are also surprisingly decent, and he assumes they’ll be even better now that June is approaching and the temperature continues crawling upwards. He’s been preparing himself for the influx of customers as soon as school lets out for summer vacation and he isn’t disappointed in the slightest. He starts recognizing regulars, and even some of the not-so-regulars, including Amber. 

“You work at The Spoon. You have milkshakes. Why come here?” Cyrus asks on a slow day. She’s looking over the flavors carefully, as if the decision will be a major turning point in her life, barely looking up when she responds.

“Sometimes you just need some pure, unadulterated ice cream.” She says it in a way that implies Cyrus shouldn’t argue. She is kind of right, he supposes, and he really shouldn’t be questioning why a paying customer is frequenting his place of work. 

“This would be the place to go for that. We don’t have a five-star yelp review for nothing.” When she finally has her single scoop cup of fresh strawberry in hand, Amber takes a bite and sighs happily around her spoon. 

“My brother is lactose intolerant, and knowing he can’t partake in this experience? Tragic, but also hilarious.” Cyrus’s forehead creases as he mentally flips through his memories of Amber and whether or not she’s ever shared this before.

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” It’s not particularly pertinent information; Amber and Cyrus aren’t even that close. But still, he finds it odd that in the years of knowing her, he had no idea she had any siblings.

“Honestly, you’re probably better off. He’s an idiot,” she says with a playful grin that indicates she’s mostly joking. They talk for a while longer before Amber looks at her phone and tells him she has to go back to work. She gives an exaggerated pout and fake sobs, drawing the attention of the family of four sitting at a table near the door, as she walks out of the building. Cyrus laughs to himself, then takes to wiping down the counters and “looking busy,” but truth be told, there’s not much to do. After a few minutes, even the family leaves, and he’s all alone, only soft music and the hum of the air conditioning keeping him company. 

His back is to the door when the bell rings, indicating a new customer. Cyrus breathes a sigh of relief and brings himself back to the register with a smile that is half-customer service and half-genuine. The guy looks around his age, but more intriguing is the way his eyes dart around like he’s looking for something. Cyrus clears his throat to get his attention but when it doesn’t work he finally he has to speak up.

“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?” Cyrus asks, his voice breaking just a little over the awkwardness of his words, but you know, workplace etiquette or whatever. The boy opens his mouth, but pretty quickly closes it again. He looks down at his feet for a moment, then back up, making nervous eye contact with Cyrus. Just as he starts to think this entire interaction is getting weird, the boy practically shouts.

“Yes! Ice cream! I would like to buy some….” Cyrus flinches a little in surprise at the sudden outburst and then thinks. Well, yeah. This is an ice cream shop; that’s kinda what people come here for. However, Cyrus is willing to overlook all of this because the guy is unbelievably cute. Like, “I didn’t know guys like you existed” cute. 

“Of course! Do you know what you want?” Cyrus asks, just a little amused by the exchange, but ready to move right into business mode. 

“What would you suggest?” And that is the wrong question to ask Cyrus, as brevity is not his strong suit. Like, at all. Cyrus isn’t good at being concise at the best of times, but when he’s in front of a cute boy with no other customers to tend to, he’s an aimless, rambling mess. He ends up going into an absurd amount of detail for five different flavors, babbling for a solid fifteen minutes when the store remains empty except for the two of them. When Cyrus finally stops to breathe, he blushes at the way the boy looks at him. Cyrus can’t quite read his expression, but he doesn’t look bored, so at least he has that.

“Sorry, you came here to  _ get  _ ice cream, not to hear me talk about it for a million years,” Cyrus apologizes, wiping his hands on his apron when he realizes just how sweaty they’re getting. The boys laughs, shy-sounding, but genuine. It’s pretty.  _ He’s pretty,  _ Cyrus inevitably - stupidly - ends up thinking to himself.

“No worries, it’s fine. I liked listening to you. I should probably get going though,” he says, looking at his phone once before making somewhat somber eye contact with Cyrus. 

“Of course. Would you like to sample any flavors?” Cyrus hastens to ask, feeling a little guilty for keeping a stranger for so long. It isn’t like him at all. Normally, he keeps his interactions at the shop as short as possible; he’s not sure what came over him. The boy shakes his head as he responds.

“I think I’ll take your word and go with the peanut butter cup. You really sold me.”

“Well, I hope it lives up to the hype I created. I’m a little scared now,” Cyrus admits, scooping out the ice cream with shaky hands. What if he actually has terrible taste in frozen dessert flavors and he totally led this guy astray?

“I’m sure it’ll be great.” Their hands brush as Cyrus hands him his ice cream and he swears his heart stops beating for a couple seconds. The boy is already out the door and down the street when Cyrus realizes he never even asked him for a name, but then thinks that would probably be really weird anyway. He begins to cope with the fact that he’ll probably never see the boy again. 

\---

It turns out that he’s completely wrong because the guy shows up again, literally the next day with a smile on his face. Cyrus knows it’s foolish to think he could be the cause of it, but it doesn’t stop his brain from making that leap anyway. 

“Hey,” the guy says, leaning up against the counter, and suddenly they seem so much closer than any two people have ever been. Cyrus swallows but barely manages to do so without choking. 

“Hey. How was the ice cream?” Cyrus asks tentatively. He’s treading lightly, just in case he’s misreading everything and this stranger actually wants nothing to do with him. He did come back, so Cyrus is probably exaggerating, but he still prefers overly cautious over rightfully confident. He can’t be disappointed that way.

“It was delicious, just like you said. You’ve got amazing description skills. And now I know I can trust you.” It’s a lot for Cyrus to take in at once. Mostly he can’t believe someone is putting so much faith in him. And he doesn’t even know the guy’s name. 

“While I’m honored to have been appointed your ice cream connoisseur, I think it would help if I knew what to call you. I’ve been referring to you as peanut butter cup in my head,” Cyrus admits. He cringes internally before the words are even out of his mouth, thinking he probably shouldn’t tell the guy he’s met once that he’s been thinking about him. 

“I’m TJ,” he says with a chuckle, probably directed at Cyrus, but it’s such a pretty sound that he doesn’t even necessarily care. It takes him a few seconds to realize that the guy - TJ - is extending his hand towards him. 

“Oh, right, I’m Cyrus.” His voice is shaky and his palms are sweaty, and he feels like everything he’s doing is making it worse. Their hands join and despite the sweat, TJ doesn’t look disgusted or annoyed, something Cyrus isn’t used to. 

“Yeah, I know,” TJ says so casually it nearly gives Cyrus whiplash. People don’t know him. He’s not noteworthy enough to be known by anyone outside of teachers and his small group of friends. 

“Y-you know?” 

“Yeah, it’s kinda on your nametag.” Cyrus looks down, and yeah. That would be his name, right there in block letters. He can feel his cheeks go red, and thinks this is on par for how his conversations with cute boys usually go. He’s predicting TJ will now leave at any moment.

“Right, right. Nametag. That’s a thing,” Cyrus says, struggling to find the words to say, but TJ is still grinning and he should really stop that so Cyrus can have a coherent thought sometime soon. TJ asks him about school, and unbeknownst to Cyrus, they’ve gone to the same school for years now, they’ve just literally never interacted. Cyrus is actually sure that he’s never even seen TJ in school before, but they don’t exactly run in the same circles, so that probably makes sense.

“In case you haven’t noticed already, I’m kind of a loser. And it’s a big school. Lots of separation between people like me and the cool jocks,” Cyrus says, the implied ‘like you’ hanging in the air between them. TJ rolls his eyes.

“In case  _ you  _ haven’t noticed, I think your knowledge of ice cream is pretty cool.”

“Ha, cool as in like, ice cream is cool. Like it’s cold…” Cyrus is pretty confident that he’s never said anything dumber in his entire life, but when TJ smiles and bites his lip, he figures it’ll probably happen again. TJ takes Cyrus’s suggestion for a second time, and leaves soon after, just as he did the day before. And while he would’ve liked to have seen and heard TJ’s reaction to their new flavor - pistachio fudge swirl - he thinks nothing of it.

\---

It goes like that for two weeks. Every day, TJ comes into the shop, talks with Cyrus for a few minutes, asks him for a flavor recommendation, and then leaves to an unknown destination Cyrus has never bothered to ask about. Cyrus doesn’t think getting ice cream every day is very healthy, or cost-effective for that matter, but he’s never been one to judge (and it certainly helps that TJ has such a cute face). TJ also happens to be one of the shop’s best tippers, and despite Cyrus telling him every time that he doesn’t have to, TJ slips a few dollar bills into the jar near the register, winking right before he walks out the door. 

Cyrus thinks TJ may be flirting with him. Cyrus also thinks he doesn’t have enough experience with these kinds of things to know for sure. He’s never seen TJ interact with anyone else. Maybe he’s just really nice to everybody.  _ Maybe you aren’t special at all.  _

The bell rings as the door opens. TJ walks in, at the same time he always does, when Cyrus makes the decision to do something. He takes a deep breath.

“Hey.” It takes all of his energy, but honestly, Cyrus is surprised he gets even one word out. 

“Hey, you got any new flavors for me to taste test?”  
“As a matter of fact, we do. Chocolate marshmallow creme. We just started serving it today. In my opinion, it might be a little too sweet,” Cyrus says, already scooping said flavor into a cup for TJ. 

“Probably not as sweet as you.” TJ smirks as he says it, runs his fingers along Cyrus’s wrist and  _ okay. Okay. This is actually happening.  _ Cyrus has to do something; there’s never been a better moment than this one to do  _ something _ . Their hands graze as they do every time they get to this point in the transaction, but Cyrus keeps their fingers overlapped. 

“Do you think you can stay for a bit? I can have my break and we can finally sit down and have a real conversation, maybe?” He can’t help the way doubt creeps into his voice and makes a question of what should be a firm statement. TJ looks at his watch. His face goes indecipherable for a moment, then he smiles and nods, walking towards a table in the corner of the shop. When Cyrus sits across from him, they both just kinda smile and stare at each other until Cyrus realizes something.

“You can finally give me a live review of the flavor! And just so you know, I will be able to tell if you’re lying,” Cyrus says, hoping he sounds flirty like he wants to, and not mildly threatening. TJ looks at the cup of ice cream in front of him, and again, looks conflicted about something, quickly covering it up with a smirk.

“I could never lie to you.” TJ digs the spoon into the ice cream, lifting up the spoon incredibly slowly for reasons Cyrus can’t discern.

“Cyrus? Have you seen a- what are you doing?” 

Amber’s voice permeates the energy that had been surrounding the two of them, TJ quickly dropping the spoon and Cyrus whipping his head around and sitting back, as if they had both been caught doing something wrong. 

“Eating ice cream?” Cyrus finally tries, his voice breaking on every vowel. But Amber isn’t even looking at him. Instead she’s staring at TJ in disbelief. 

“Did you suddenly forget about the immense amount of pain you’ll be in if you eat that?”

“Not now, Amber….”

I’m not about to babysit you again because your stomach hurts so bad you can’t move,” Amber says, in such a definitive voice that Cyrus’s brain connects the dots at lightning speed. 

“TJ is your brother,” he says to no one. Amber looks at him while TJ pointedly looks away. 

“Yeah. I told you, he’s an idiot.” TJ blushes at that. Cyrus almost wants to defend him, but it feels dumb. There are a hundred thoughts going through his head, and not a single one makes any sense. 

“When you said you didn’t want to meet up here, I thought it was because I was making fun of your lactose intolerance, not because you wanted time to flirt with the boy behind the counter.” Cyrus barely has time to react before Amber is saying something about meeting their family and having to go now. Cyrus’s ears ring as he watches them both leave, TJ without a word as he tosses his uneaten ice cream into the trash. 

\---

After everything that happened, Cyrus really isn’t expecting TJ to show up the next day. He stands a few inches away from the counter itself, refusing to make eye contact with Cyrus. Cyrus isn’t sure if he’s going to say anything any time soon, so he starts off.

“So… you’re lactose intolerant.” 

“Thanks for informing me. I really had no idea.” The words sound colder than TJ’s ever been around him. And Cyrus will do anything to get things back to the way they were.

“I’m not making fun of you,” he starts carefully. “I’m just a little confused about why you’ve been coming here every day and spending your money on something that you can’t even eat.” TJ sighs heavily, dragging his hands over his face and messing up his hair slightly in the process. 

“I just wanted to talk to you. Are you happy?” Cyrus rolls his eyes endearingly. 

“Then why didn’t you just talk to me?”

“I didn’t think you liked me.” And he actually has to laugh at that one because he doesn’t think he’s ever met someone more oblivious than TJ in his life. 

“I was basically smitten the moment you walked in the room. You’re kinda cute, in case you haven’t noticed.” TJ finally looks up at that, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips.

“You don’t have to buy ice cream for me to talk to you, but I will say, I’m kinda honored that you did,” Cyrus admits, a shy blush taking over his whole face. It was really only a matter of time. 

“You’re so good at describing things. It made me really wish I could at least try them without feeling like I’m gonna die.” Cyrus might have an idea. 

\---

A couple weeks later, Cyrus tries to casually bring up TJ’s wish. TJ sees straight through him, as expected.

“What did you do?”

“Why do you assume I did anything?” TJ looks at him. Not with any particular look, but it’s enough to break him anyway. He’s a little weak when it comes to TJ. 

“Fine. I, Cyrus Goodman, present the first non dairy, coconut milk alternative for Melt Away, in the one and only flavor, peanut butter cup,” he says, pulling the cup out and bestowing it like a gift. TJ is expressionless for a nerve-wracking amount of time, which makes Cyrus think that maybe he got a little too invested in this project for someone he, arguably, still hasn’t known for very long. And while it is more than obvious that they like each other, maybe this is just too much and-

“You are literally so sweet.” They both blush, but Cyrus opts to ignore it altogether as he retrieves his own cup of the same flavor, coconut milk and all.

“Take two?” They sit down at the same corner table, confidently taking their first bites together. And it’s good. Cyrus had his concerns, but when TJ sighs happily, he knows he did good. He can’t stop his heart from racing when TJ feeds him a spoonful, both of them giggling at the silliness of it.

“Hey, you’ve got some of it on your face,” TJ says, mock-serious only barely showing under his dopey smile. Cyrus is sure his matches.

“Really? Where?”

“Right-” TJ looks at him, his eyes trailing down longingly until he leans in and Cyrus closes his eyes. 

“There.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
